Tearing Away the Veil
by Kristine Angela Booth
Summary: An Adrienette reveal oneshot with the reveal shown in a very jarring way for our young heroes.


Ever since the events with Gorizilla Marinette had seen Adrien differently. He was less of an idol to her now and more of the 14-year-old boy he was. She'd seen it before, but when they were running from the crazed fans, more than ever before the model had fallen away. Instead, she'd seen his vulnerabilities, his kindness, and his sense of humor. Adrien Agreste was one of the most genuine people she had ever known, and in that short amount of time, it had shone through.

Of course, all of it only made her crush a thousand times worse. Who couldn't love someone as beautiful inside and out as Adrien? That gorgeous golden hair mesmerized her during classes. His personality wowed her at every second. And the sparkle in his green eyes when he was with his friends was truly stunning.

_Just a bit of white here for the reflection of the light..._

"Are you still working on your picture of Adrien?"

Tikki's high-pitched voice asked, floating out of Marinette's jacket to peer at the piece Marinette was drawing. It was an extremely detailed drawing of Adrien Agreste. She'd nearly managed to finish it, and was just adjusting certain things to make it stand out like he did in real life.

Marinette nodded, adding another line onto his hair. "Capturing him on paper is really hard, Tikki! My art skills aren't like Nate's, I'm not sure I'm cut out to get everything right."

"It looks amazing, Marinette. You need to have more faith in yourself. You've definitely captured his, uh… radiance?" Tikki said, looking at the picture from several angles.

The bluenette groaned loudly, dropping her face down onto the desk next to the sketchbook. "See! You can't even tell what I'm trying to go for! I might as well just throw it away and stick to drawing outfits, I'm clearly no good at anything else!"

Panic on her face, Tikki flew around Marinette's head. "Marinette, it's okay! You really are good, it looks exactly like Adrien! That was your main goal wasn't it, to make it look like what you were drawing? I mean-"

"Listen, Plagg, you're going to have to wait until after school if you want any more-"

That was Adrien's voice. Inside the classroom.

Eyes wide, Marinette slowly lifted her head and Tikki slowly turned around. Standing at the front of the classroom, staring right back at them, was Adrien and a small black shape floating next to him. That shape was unmistakable. It wasn't just a kwami, but it was the black cat kwami. The one that gave Chat Noir his powers. Next to her was the Ladybug kwami. And once the two teens locked eyes, it was obvious that they both knew it too.

* * *

Adrien had decided to go to school early that day so he could get some extra time out of the house. With a piano recital coming up, his father was becoming more and more strict with how he spent his time after school, so he'd hoped to get a little bit of time to relax alone in the classroom.

"You don't have any camembert left in your bag," Plagg complained when they arrived. He flew out of the bag slung over Adrien's shoulder, crossing his arms as they got up the set up steps toward the classroom.

Adrien sighed. "That's all that I have right now, and I'm not going back home."

"But why not? It's not like it's that far away!" he argued, following him as he opened the door to the classroom.

Adrien looked at the kwami, exasperated. "Listen, Plagg, you're going to have to wait until after school if you want anymore-" He trailed off, another voice catching his attention. His blood turned to ice at the idea of someone else seeing Plagg, but only got worse when he saw who was talking.

Marinette sat at her desk, sketchbook in front of her and head down with a small, red kwami talking to her. She lifted her head and an expression similar to his own spread over her face when she saw Plagg. For just a moment, when they met each other's eyes, neither of them said anything. There was no mistaking it, they had both put together the same thing.

"L-Ladybug?" he finally asked, his quiet voice somehow loud in the silent classroom.

Her eyes wide, Marinette let out a nervous chuckle. "Th-that's me, Kitty."

It was silent for some time while they both processed what they'd just learned. Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette was Ladybug! Marinette was... Ladybug? Bluebell eyes, dark blue hair, ponytails. Imagining the mask on her, it almost seemed obvious. The way she always stood up for her classmates, how she'd stood up to Chloe when she'd copied her hat design, working so hard to create Jagged Stone's album cover. Of course it was her. How could it be anybody else?

* * *

Marinette was mid-meltdown even while Adrien pieced the puzzle together. How could Adrien - perfect, lovely Adrien - be the obnoxious, flirty, pun-filled Chat Noir? It hardly seemed possible. They were like night and day. How many times had she rejected Chat, searching for the affections of Adrien she'd never receive? She felt her heart stop as a revelation came to her, one that made her entire world crash down around her.

She had rejected Chat Noir, not going to the date he had planned for her. And all for the chance to go to Andre's on a date with Adrien. Somehow, she had broken his heart because she was in love with him. If she had just given Chat Noir a chance, she would have gotten exactly what she wanted. Because Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

Standing up shakily, she walked down the steps over to him, leaving her backpack and sketchbook behind. This was like a dream and a nightmare all mixed into one. Stopping in front of him, she saw a few similarities. He was the right height, his hair was the same shade of golden blond, and Adrien's ring was the right shape.

The ring she had looked at thousands of times. The ring that was in so many photos of him. The ring that was even in what she was drawing right now. How had she not connected it to the Miraculous before? Make it black and add the paw print...

"Y-you really are Chat Noir," she whispered, looking up at him in continued surprise. She knew his schedule, she knew what he was doing at most moments of the day, but she hadn't known that he was her superhero partner.

"And you really are Ladybug," he replied, his eyes looking briefly at her earrings.

The two kwamis flew up to each other, trading a brief hug. "I think they're broken," Plagg observed. His phrase got a small giggle out of Tikki.

"So," Adrien started, seeming to be the first one to break out of the shock of figuring it out. "Since we know each other's identities now... Who is it you have a crush on?" The sly look on his face as he folded his arms and leaned toward her was all Chat Noir.

"W-what?" Marinette squeaked, still struggling to see the boy as Chat instead of Adrien.

"It's probably someone in our class since you're not on any teams like fencing or basketball like I am." He reached a hand up to his chin, scanning the empty seats as if it would help him figure it out. "Is it Nathaniel? The two of you seem like you're pretty good friends. Or maybe it's Kim? He's pretty popular, it would make sense."

Marinette's cheeks flushed a deep red as his question finally set in. He had thought of the night of their non-date as well. Except, he had thought of something totally different than she had.

"I-I, uh, it's no one. No one important," she stammered. Impulsively, she glanced at the sketchbook that lie open to her pencil drawing of Adrien. Her brain started to short circuit. All it would take was a couple of steps for him to see it and know, once and for all.

Adrien's eyes followed hers, seeing the open book. "Do you have a picture of him in your sketchpad?" he asked, his look become devilishly like Chat Noir's. Seeing those expressions on Adrien's features was short-circuiting her brain, she almost didn't catch him moving up to look at it.

"No! It's just some designs I've been working on. You don't need to look!" She tried to catch him before he saw it, but he had a leg up on her. Before she could grab it from the desk, Adrien had walked over and picked up the pink book.

Her face matched Nathaniel's bright red hair as she saw the realization dawn on his face. It was a look she hadn't seen on either of his personalities - shock mixed with a touch of horror and a hint of excitement. The color drained from his face as his eyes slowly moved from the page to her.

Hiding her face in her hands, Marinette felt her world crash down for the third time that day. This was almost worse than if he'd seen the pictures in her room. At least with that she could lie and say it was because she loved fashion. But this, there was no getting around this. She heard the pages turning slowly, cringing internally with each one. The pages before were filled with brief sketches to help her decide on what pose he should be in, where to put the source of light, and what proportions to use. Pages and pages filled with notes and attempts to get the perfect drawing of Adrien Agreste.

There was a gentle thud as the book closed. Moving her hand ever so slightly, she peered at him from behind her fingers. He appeared to be experiencing a fraction of what she herself was.

"I... I'm the one you have a crush on?" he asked, finally meeting her eyes. They were so green, drawing her in even in the most embarrassing moment of her entire life.

She dropped her hands and gave a small nod in response, not trusting her voice. Everything was out between them. Their biggest secrets were revealed, each of them knowing more about the other than even their best friends did. Knowing that was extremely unnerving while also being a weight released from her shoulders.

"But you act so weird around me. Before the four of us really started hanging out, I thought for sure you hated me. I mean, you can barely talk to me and..." he trailed off, connecting the dots. "...and that's because you like me, not because you hate me."

"Sorry? I'm kind of surprised that you didn't realize," Marinette said, trying to be more like Ladybug for the moment. It was out in the open. All she could do now was embrace it and move on.

Adrien laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Everything actually makes a lot more sense now. I can't believe I didn't realize any of this sooner."

Brightened by his response to it, she laughed a bit as well, though hers was still nervous. "I can hear Alya if she knew any of this. 'This entire time you've liked the wrong versions of each other.'"

Neither of them had time to say anything else regarding their hoard of new information because Alya and Nino strode inside the classroom. The kwamis, who had been watching them, zipped into the jacket of their respective Miraculous holder. Marinette had a feeling the two of them would be a lot more careful from now on.

"Hey, guys!" Alya said, her and Nino stopping in front of his and Adrien's desk. "What are you doing here so early? I thought we'd end up the first ones here."

Marinette looked over at him, locking eyes for a moment before they both started rambling out an answer.

"I wanted somewhere new to work on a new sketch, so I decided to come in early, and…"

"I just wanted some space out of the house. Since my bodyguard will only take me to school in the morning, I came in early to have the space…"

Their words spilled over one another, creating a jumbled mess that no one could possibly manage to distinguish. Nino and Alya shared a look as they did, waiting until they trailed off into nothing.

"Were you showing Adrien a sketch, Marinette?" Nino asked, seeing the polka-dotted book in Adrien's hands.

Both of their eyes widened. Marinette grasped for the book desperately at the same time that Adrien shoved it back to her. She took it and hid it behind her as if putting more between them and the book would make them less likely to care about it. "J-just a new design! But I think I'm going to scrap it, it really wasn't that good. I'll just get rid of it when I get home after school."

Luckily, neither of them pressed. They all took their seats, talking to one another as the other students slowly arrived for the day. As usual, Chloe tried to tear Adrien away from his conversation with the others, but eventually sat down with Sabrina when she failed. The rest of the students had found their seats and started taking out their tablets when there was only a minute before class would start.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien caught her attention as she set her tablet in front of her. The boy had turned around, his normal smile holding the barest hint of his hidden shamelessness as Chat Noir. "Do you want to go out with me tomorrow?"

Marinette and Chloe both nearly choked as the words left his lips. "HER?" Chloe demanded, standing up and putting her hands on her desk.

"I-I'd love to, A-Adrien," Marinette managed to say.

"Awesome, Purrincess," he replied, careful not to drag the pun out too long so only she would notice it. He winked at her, then turned around. The entire class burst into whispers, all of them periodically looking to the front of the room at them.

Alya caught Marinette's attention by elbowing her gently. "Girl! You have a date with Adrien!"


End file.
